They forced those fleeing the site to go inside" the restaurant, witness Nur Yasin told the AP.The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020.Al-Shabab claimed responsibility shortly after the assault began with a car bomb exploding at the restaurants gate. They were killing people on sight," Saida Hussein, a university student, told The Associated Press.Soldiers surrounded the building and used vehicle-mounted guns to neutralize the attackers early Thursday.The gunmen "were dressed in military uniforms. Troops entered the ground floor while the extremist snipers held positions upstairs. Inside the building, the body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef there lay near the rubble of a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it."I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again.S. Police said many victims were killed at point-blank range after being hunted down. military in Africa said it carried out an airstrike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp.Another survivor, Aden Karie, was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain.Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed that airstrike and said such attacks would disrupt the groups ability to conduct new attacks.Many early victims were young men who had been entering the Pizza House when the vehicle exploded, Hussein said.The Somalia-based al-Shabab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace.Security forces rescued Asian, Ethiopian, Kenyan and other workers at Posh Treats as the attack continued, Hussein said.All five attackers were killed and the soldiers secured the building China Door Openers Factory after dawn, said senior Somali police Capt.While al-Shabab claimed to have attacked the neighboring Posh Treats restaurant, which is frequented by the citys elite and was damaged in the blast, security officials said the Pizza House was targeted instead.. Mohamed Hussein.  

Efforts to take control of the restaurant were slowed by the darkness of night, d Hussein said.Mogadishu: At least 31 people are dead after the overnight siege of a popular restaurant in Somalias capital by al-Shabab Islamic extremists, ended Thursday morning by security forces with all five attackers killed.With a new federal government established, pressure is growing on Somalias military to assume full responsibility for the countrys security.The extremist group also faces a new military push from the United States after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including airstrikes, against al-Shabab.Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies."He shot at me twice and one bullet struck me on the leg," said Karie as he was taken to a waiting ambulance.Many of the 31 victims were killed at point-blank range, Hussein said. She said she survived by hiding behind a large table downstairs. Nearly 40 other people were wounded.The attack began Wednesday evening when a car bomb exploded at the gate to the restaurant and gunmen posing as military forces stormed in.On Sunday, the U.Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as attackers searched for patrons in the darkened Pizza House restaurant, firing their weapons.The bodies of five girls thought to have been killed by the extremists were found in the restaurant, police said. The roofs were blown off the restaurant and nearby buildings by the blast